This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent empirical studies dealing with online consumer behavior and decision-making processes. To that end, the paper adapts and extends Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell's (1978) and Engel, Blackwell, and Miniard's (1986) decision-making model as backdrop in the review of the literature. The vast majority of studies examine the link between external factors and one or more components of the decision-making process. The findings of this study show a paucity of research on a number of components of decision making, as well as inconsistencies in the way the online environment is characterized. Finally, the findings show that student samples are prevalent among the studies identified and the research method is biased toward the survey method as opposed to experimentation. Discussion and conclusions are provided, and directions for future research are presented.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between market orientation, learning orientation and innovation; and second, assesses the role of innovation, market orientation and learning orientation on firms’ business performance using a developing country (i.e. the Ghanaian banking domain) as a study context. Design/methodology/approach – Following a nation-wide survey among senior managers of 28 banks in Ghana, five research propositions were tested using multiple linear regression analysis. Findings – Results demonstrate that market orientation has significant association with innovation while learning orientation has significant impact on innovation. Moreover, innovation mediates the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Research limitations/implications – This study adopt the cross-sectional research design and as such acknowledge the same limitations as other cross-sectional studies. Practical implications – The research will help bank executives especially in Ghana and other developing countries to appreciate these marketing variables. Social implications – Banks innovation efforts, concurrently with the development of market orientation culture and improvement in organizational learning processes must benefit bank customers and stakeholders as a whole. Originality/value – The research will help banks in Ghana and other developing countries to appreciate that their innovation efforts should concurrently be in sync with the development of market orientation culture and improvement in organizational learning processes.
named (a) top of the range, (b) service, (c) value for money, (d) reliability, (e) attractiveness, (f) country of origin, (g) the brand name, and (h) selectivity. The reliability and validity of the scale was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The scale has potential to serve as an instrument for the operationalisation of positioning strategies and given that no additional items are needed, it is simple to use. It concludes by providing managerial implications and directions for future research.Keywords: positioning strategies, scale development and validation, consumer/customer perceptions, generic, United Kingdom IntroductionPositioning is considered by both academics (Aaker and Shansby 1982;Park et al. 1986;Arnott 1993Arnott , 1994Arnott and Easingwood 1994;Myers 1996;Porter 1996;Kotler 1997;Hooley et al. 1998;Hooley et al. 2001) and practitioners (Neal 1980;Reynolds 1986;Ries and Trout 1986;McKenna 1986;Bainsfair 1990;Dovel 1990; Weylman 1993;Trout 1996) to be one of the key 1 Correspondence: Charles Blankson, Assistant Professor of Marketing, College of Management, Long Island University -C. W. Post Campus, 720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville, New York, 11548-1300, USA. Tel: (516) 299-3094/2143, Fax: (516) 299-3917, e-mail: Charles.Blankson@liu.edu 6 Charles Blankson and Stavros P. Kalafatis elements of modern marketing management. Despite this acknowledged central role, it is surprising to uncover a general paucity of documented, empirically based and consumer/customer-derived typologies, capable of measuring/reflecting positioning strategies.Review of extant literature shows that, although efforts have been made towards the conceptualisation and development of positioning typologies, the results have been descriptive (see for example Buskirk 1975;Brown and Sims 1976;Berry 1982;Wind 1982;Aaker and Shansby 1982;Hooley et al. 1998b) or are based on very limited empirical evidence (e.g. Crawford 1985;Easingwood and Mahajan 1989) or reflect managerial views (e.g. Arnott 1992; Kalafatis et al. 2000). The task of consumer/customer-based typologies that has been inferred to be important in the management of the positioning concept (see Dibb and Simkin 1991;Hooley and Saunders 1993;Bhat and Reddy 1998;Hooley et al. 1998) seems to have been largely overlooked by scholars. This study presents the results, i.e. development and validation, of an empirically based consumer/customer-derived generic typology of positioning strategies.The latter is considered to be important for the operationalisation of the concept by Fill (1999) who writes that successful positioning can only be achieved by adopting a customer perspective and by understanding how customers perceive products in the class and how they attach importance to particular attributes that can be grouped under a construct (see Sweeney and Soutar 2001). This contention is supported by Dibb et al. (1997, pp.228) This paper is based on the premise that the absence of empirically based constructs (see, for example, Hooley et al. 2001, p...
PurposeTo assess the patterns of market orientation within the small business sector.Design/methodology/approachAfter a pilot study involving interviews with owner‐managers, and covert and overt observation of small businesses' marketing practices, depth interviews by telephone and face‐to‐face were conducted in one state of the USA. Data, collected in the form of protocols and means‐end maps for individual owner‐managers, were analyzed by inductive reasoning.FindingsThe study confirmed the appropriateness of the market orientation framework for the small business sector. Findings included a distinctive “marketing style” (strong emphasis on customer care and employee welfare; motivation; and market intelligence) related to size of the firms surveyed, the personality of the owner‐manager, the available resources and the nature of the operating environment. Despite absence of a formal approach to market research and marketing planning, this “style” was found to have a positive effect on margins and market share.Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies could usefully investigate larger samples in broader geographic settings, including countries at all stages of economic development. It should also examine causal links among the “constructs” of market orientation.Practical implicationsThe findings provide small business owner‐managers, policy makers and researchers with a framework for the measurement and evaluation of market orientation in small businesses, which could be adapted to specific conditions or used as a source of performance benchmarks.Originality/valueThis paper offers useful and candid insights into the application of market orientation by small businesses, distilled from in‐depth investigation of the motivations underlying respondents' marketing decisions and initiatives. It thus supplements the largely quantitative studies of market orientation in the literature to date.
Tests the relevance of positioning within the domain of business marketing through the application of a new typology of positioning strategies. The proposed typology is tested in a well-established market sector which is characterised by commodity products and consequently the research deals with positioning as applied to actual companies rather than specific brands. Our results offer strong support as to the stability of the proposed typology and the relevance of the concept of positioning in business markets. The authors suggest that although business positioning is predominantly determined by hard criteria (e.g. product quality) and relationship building factors (e.g. personal contact), other considerations such as company structures (i.e. geographical coverage), breadth of offerings and degree of integration (i.e. location in the distribution chain), also play an important part. Finally, we offer support to the claim that, level of familiarity with a specific company is a contributing factor to perceptions of the pursued positioning strategies. This is echoed by Webster (1991) who stated that:Positioning is an important strategic concept, developed in consumer marketing but with equal applicability for industrial products and services.He goes on to refer to it as``. . . the firm's value positioning . . .'' which he defines as``. . . the firm's unique way of delivering value to customers.''
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